Monday, June 30, 2014

Social Justice Fascism And Default Go Together Like Peanut Butter And Jelly

Our favorite fascists are at it again! In another series of crazy hijinks, those madcap Argentinians are about to default* on their loans, because ... they spent all their money on magic beans!

Argentina is on track to miss an interest payment on Monday, setting in motion a 30-day grace period for the country to make the payment and avoid its second default in 13 years. U.S. legal rulings bar Argentina from making payments to creditors that have accepted the country's debt restructurings since it defaulted in 2001, unless it also pays a group of hedge funds that have refused to sign off...

(I)nvestors say they are confident there will be a resolution because Argentina simply can't afford to default again. Another default could be disastrous for an economy that many analysts say entered recession this year because of raging inflation and shortages of U.S. dollars. The Argentine central bank's currency reserves, which the government uses partly to pay its debts, are at a 7½-year low of $29 billion.

Well, it wasn't exactly magic beans, it was actually Social Justice. In true Peronist, fascist fashion, they've sprayed money out of every conceivable government orifice, doing all of the things people like Paul Krugman and Robert Reich prescribe and the result has been the same as it always is. Default.

I love the bit above about default being disastrous for the economy. I didn't know impending disasters helped one come up with cash. I thought it was saving and investing that did the trick. Oh well, you learn something new every day.

Forward!

* - The WSJ is cryptic about whether this would be a selective default, a partial default, a semi-default or one of those "You stepped over the line while serving the ball" defaults. Like it matters. In reality, here's what kind of default it is: They. Spent. All. Of. The. Money.